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Truman
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 54 hrs and 11 mins
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i would prefer david reading it
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Over the course of his distinguished career, David McCullough has spoken before Congress, colleges and universities, historical societies, and other esteemed institutions. Now, at a time of self-reflection in America following a bitter election campaign that has left the country divided, McCullough has collected some of his most important speeches in a brief volume designed to identify important principles and characteristics that are particularly American.
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On May 15, 2003, David McCullough presented "The Course of Human Events" as The 2003 Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities in Washington, DC. The Jefferson Lecture is a tribute to McCullough's lifetime investigation of history.
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Brave Companions
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The best-selling author of Truman and John Adams, David McCullough has written profiles of exceptional men and women past and present who have not only shaped the course of history or changed how we see the world but whose stories express much that is timeless about the human condition. Here are Alexander von Humboldt, whose epic explorations of South America surpassed the Lewis and Clark expedition; Harriet Beecher Stowe, "the little woman who made the big war”....
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I USUALLY LOVE THIS GUY
- By Randall on 01-28-19
By: David McCullough
Publisher's summary
Pulitzer Prize, Biography/Autobiography, 1993
Hailed by critics as an American masterpiece, David McCullough's sweeping biography of Harry S. Truman captured the heart of the nation. The life and times of the 33rd president of the United States, Truman provides a deeply moving look at an extraordinary, singular American.
From Truman's small-town, turn-of-the-century boyhood and his transforming experience in the face of war in 1918, to his political beginnings in the powerful Pendergast machine and his rapid rise to prominence in the U.S. Senate, McCullough shows a man of uncommon vitality and strength of character.
Here too is a telling account of Truman's momentous decision to use the atomic bomb and the weighty responsibilities that he was forced to confront on the dawning of a new age.
Distinguished historian and Pulitzer-Prize-winning author David McCullough tells one of the greatest American stories in this stirring audio adaptation of Truman - a compelling, classic portrait of a life that shaped history.
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In this dramatic and fascinating account, Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter shows how Franklin Delano Roosevelt used his first 100 days in office to lift the country from the despair and paralysis of the Great Depression and transform the American presidency.
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Very infomative, and also refreshingly honest
- By Andy on 02-19-09
By: Jonathan Alter
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Going Home to Glory
- A Memoir of Life with Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1961-1969
- By: David Eisenhower, Julie Nixon Eisenhower
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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After President Dwight D. Eisenhower left office in 1961, he retired to a farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Living next door was his teenage grandson, David; they would be neighbors for the rest of the decade. Based on personal stories, letters, diaries, and the reminiscences of Eisenhower’s closest friends, Going Home to Glory is both an intimate chronicle of the elder statesman’s final years and a coming of age story.
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Wow - Living History - Right Before Our Eyes
- By Amazon Customer on 12-16-11
By: David Eisenhower, and others
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Traitor to His Class
- The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 37 hrs and 9 mins
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A sweeping, magisterial biography of the man generally considered the greatest president of the 20th century, admired by Democrats and Republicans alike. Traitor to His Class sheds new light on FDR's formative years; his remarkable willingness to champion the concerns of the poor and disenfranchised; and his combination of political genius, firm leadership, and matchless diplomacy in saving democracy during the Great Depression and the American cause of freedom in World War II.
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Talented writer and narrator, but too biased/long
- By todd on 01-24-20
By: H. W. Brands
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Eleanor and Hick
- The Love Affair That Shaped a First Lady
- By: Susan Quinn
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1932 Eleanor Roosevelt entered the claustrophobic, duty-bound existence of the first lady with dread. By that time she had put her deep disappointment in her marriage behind her and developed an independent life - now threatened by the public role she would be forced to play. A lifeline came to her in the form of a feisty campaign reporter for the Associated Press: Lorena Hickok. Over the next 30 years, until Eleanor's death, the two women carried on an extraordinary relationship.
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An Icon who was real.
- By Francine Fields on 08-17-17
By: Susan Quinn
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1920
- The Year of Six Presidents
- By: David Pietrusza
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 20 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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The presidential election of 1920 was among history's most dramatic. Six once-and-future presidents--Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, and Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt--jockeyed for the White House. With voters choosing between Wilson's League of Nations and Harding's front-porch isolationism, the 1920 election shaped modern America.
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A fascinating view into the US at the end of WWI
- By D. Littman on 12-31-09
By: David Pietrusza
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Three Days in January
- Dwight Eisenhower's Final Mission
- By: Bret Baier, Catherine Whitney
- Narrated by: Bret Baier, Danny Campbell
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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In this debut history from one of America's most influential political journalists, Bret Baier casts the three days between Dwight Eisenhower's prophetic "farewell address" on the evening of January 17, 1961, and his successor John F. Kennedy's inauguration on the afternoon of January 20 as the final mission of one of modern America's greatest leaders.
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Gently In Manner, Strongly In Deed...
- By Gillian on 01-20-17
By: Bret Baier, and others
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The Presidents Club
- Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity
- By: Nancy Gibbs, Michael Duffy
- Narrated by: Bob Walter
- Length: 22 hrs
- Unabridged
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The Presidents Club was born at Eisenhower’s inauguration when Harry Truman and Herbert Hoover first conceived the idea. Over the years that followed - and to this day - the presidents relied on, misunderstood, sabotaged, and formed alliances with one another that changed history. The world’s most exclusive fraternity is a complicated place: its members are bound forever because they sat in the Oval Office and know its secrets, yet they are immortal rivals for history’s favor.
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Engaging subject, but fact-checking needed
- By loix on 04-25-12
By: Nancy Gibbs, and others
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I USUALLY LOVE THIS GUY
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Our New "OLD MAN ELOQUENT" Rides Again
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A sad day when my book was done!
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Beloved and hated, venerated and reviled, Andrew Jackson was an orphan who fought his way to the pinnacle of power, bending the nation to his will in the cause of democracy. Jackson's election in 1828 ushered in a new and lasting era in which the people, not distant elites, were the guiding force in American politics. Democracy made its stand in the Jackson years, and he gave voice to the hopes and the fears of a restless, changing nation facing challenging times at home and threats abroad.
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What listeners say about Truman
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Sara
- 07-23-15
That Mousy Little Man From Missouri Revisited
I confess that I grew up during a time where the mention of Truman either caused eye rolling sneers or tight lipped stoney looks. I have always heard the FDR story from Roosevelt's perspective...with Eleanor treating Truman as an imbecile in need of serious help. It was fascinating to hear the same events from Truman's perspective. Rather than being a "complete dope" I found Truman to be hard working, honest and honorable. A solid public servant--upbeat and positive even when things didn't go well or the way he hoped they would.
The best part of this 54+hour listen was that while telling Truman's life story McCullough also told the story of pioneer America. Tracing Truman's ancestors and early life highlighted the settlement of the "frontier". This artfully painted a picture of how totally different our lives have become compared to a hundred plus years ago. The stories of early Missouri and the violent turbulence of Kansas before statehood were engaging. The book is filled with sweeping tales of life in an America long gone.
I loved Runger's narration for the book John Adams. His narration of Truman started out a bit rough. It took one section (about 8 hours) before he hit his stride and warmed to the story he was telling. After that the reading was good.
In the end--Harry Truman proved to be anything but "That Mousy Little Man From Missouri". Recommended if you are interested in American history and love a good biography. I really enjoyed it.
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104 people found this helpful
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- Edith
- 11-05-11
Fascinating
My husband has the hard copy of this book -- 949 pages! I was a bit concerned about the length, but despite some unnecessary detail in part one, the book is fascinating. You really feel that you know where this man comes from as the narration unfolds.
I shared the common misconception of Truman's being a dull nebbish. Far from it, like Lincoln, he was a fascinating combination of dirt farmer and intellectual, with a ramrod sense of right and wrong -- a basically decent person. He was not charismatic, but honed his political skills in the machine politics of Missouri before winning his seat in the US senate. He also loved classical music and opera and had considered a career as concert pianist, he played so well. He lived in a fascinating era... succeeding FDR as the second world war wound down, and making some very big decisions such as dropping the atom bomb and our participation in the Korean war.
It's easy to regret these decisions in hindsight. McCullough is mostly non-judgemental, successfully recreating the concerns and zeitgeist of the era, and painting a portrait of a guy of very modest beginnings who rose to meet the challenges of his offices and era. The author does an excellent job, covering Potsdam, McCarthyism, General MacArthur's fall, and the isolationism and demagoguery of the Republican party among many other events.
I'm afraid Nelson Runger is not my favorite narrator. His style is slightly pompous and a bit labored. Ironically, this tone sounds like forties and fifties radio and TV voices, so maybe it's just right. To his credit, he does not mis-pronounce words like so many younger narrators. But the book is well worth a listen and is a great introduction to that era.
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54 people found this helpful
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- Elizabeth
- 04-26-14
What a biography should be
It's hard to imagine listening to a biography of one life for 54 hours...but this particular life was so packed with amazing events lived by an amazing man, that every hour was justified.
Okay, I'll admit there were a few hours that began to feel a little boring to me at times, particularly about his childhood and his ancestors. But I'm glad I listened to them, because biographies are about knowing people, and people are about all of the factors that shaped them, including the mundanities. Truman never forgot who he was and where he came from, so those shaping influences were necessary to the story.
And, as I'm learning from reading other minutiae-minded authors (such as Marilynne Robinson and even Victor Hugo), the little details provide ambiance, and ambiance immerses the reader, if the reader will allow it to. The reader begins to feel as though he is walking through life with the main character, and where this may not always be exciting, it certainly deepens the understanding and even affection that is developed.
And I became very fond of Harry Truman while listening to this biography. I knew next-to-nothing about him before reading it, but now I feel a deep respect and appreciation for him. Though we disagree on some fundamentals, I can now at least appreciate his positions. And though I can see some of his mistakes, I can respect that they were well-intended mistakes. He was, in short, a good man. And a good man is always worth getting to know. Frankly, that's one important way that this book helped me grow as a person. It showed me how much it's possible to respect someone with whom I disagree on major political issues. And that's a huge gift, because respect is a major antidote to...well...being a knee-jerk JERK. I hope to be less of a knee-jerker with people on the other side of the political spectrum, more interested in getting to know them as people rather than as political labels.
But mistakes and disagreements aside, this man did a phenomenal job in two terms which threw more staggering challenges at him than any previous president had ever faced. Few men could have stood up under the assault. I defy his critics to have done better.
As for the narrator, he was excellent. It must be a challenge to make a 54-hour biography enjoyable to listen to, but he certainly did it.
Somewhere past halfway through the book, something changed in the studio, because the mic picked up a lot of mouth noises from there until the end of the book. But that should reflect on the technicians, not on the narrator himself. And it should certainly not discourage anyone from taking this very worthwhile walk through the life of Harry Truman.
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38 people found this helpful
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- Chrissie
- 04-22-13
A must for all born in the 20th Century
I listened to the unabridged audiobook, that means more than 54 hours, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Little content could have been removed. The narration by Nelson Runger was wonderful. I have complained about his slurping before, but the producers have removed the slurps. His steady clear pace perfectly matches the informative text. His intonation for Truman, was perfect, both the strength of his speeches in the presidency and his reflections, to-the-point remarks and sarcastic jokes of the elderly man. Our voice does change with age, and Runger has mastered this. (Some voices were, however, in my opinion, too low and ponderous.) At the end, and this is a book that covers all aspects of Truman’s life, from birth to death, i.e. 1884-1972, there were tears in my eyes. This is a book about a man dedicated to fighting for his beliefs, but he was a politician at heart. Keep in mind that I tend to instinctively distrust politicians. It is rather remarkable that I so loved this book. I will try to never again shy away from a book about politicians……well, at least such books written by John McCullough.
Why did I love this book? You learn about American life and values as they were when America was still a land of pioneers to what it had become by the middle of the 20th Century. What the political parties stood for has changed dramatically with time. On completion of this book you have a thorough understanding of the American party system. You travel from an agrarian Midwest value mindset through WW1, the Depression, the New Deal, WW2, the emergence of atomic weapons, the birth of the UN and NATO, the Berlin blockade and successful airlift, the Cold War and McCarthyism, the focus on civil rights, the Korean War all the way up to Kennedy’s presidency. You follow this time-period through the life of a man living through its events, and a man who as president shaped many of these events. McCullough gives you a thorough understanding of all these events and a thorough understanding of the man Truman.
It is an honest book that never shies away from the mistakes made. I wasn’t thrilled with Truman’s friendship and dependence upon Pendergast. I felt that Truman’s relationship with his wife was at first not adequately clarified. By the end I understood Truman, all of him. I believe I comprehend both his familial relationships and the value he put on friendships, which explain his relationship with Pendergast . You see both the good and the bad. I very much admire the strength and forthrightness of Truman who was at heart a marvelous politician. Yes, definitely a politician who fought for his party and made mistakes, but dam he tried his best. Always. He never shirked his responsibilities. He never ran away from a problem, but faced them head on. He was not infallible. I still don’t understand why they never had more children……
I was born in 1951. I understand now what my parents lived through and why they were who they were. I understand now what lead up to the world I was born into. I totally loved this book.
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36 people found this helpful
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- James
- 08-04-15
Truman - Worth the Listen
When I first purchased this I didn't realize or remember perhaps that it's a 54 hour listen. I continued to avoid it because of its length, and focused on other items. Finally, I began what I thought would be an ordeal, but instead turned out to be an incredibly rich delight.
McCullough's biography is very thorough and begins with Truman's forebears arriving in Missouri decades before, describing their attitudes and beliefs and those became part of the Truman as president we read & hear about. The scope of the book is all of Truman's life, not just his presidency; from his days running the family farm, artillery officer in WW1, haberdasher, judge, senator, vice-president and president, and his post-presidency.
I guess if you think about it, Truman really was one of the greatest leaders the United States has had. He became president during an extraordinarily tumultuous time in world history - the final chapters of WWII, the use of the atomic bomb, the beginning of the cold war and the UN/US action in Korea. But he was just an ordinary man and he knew it - McCullough captured this vividly in any number of passages, and Nelson Runger, the narrator, does a great job with the material.
In truth, though I dreaded started this 54 hour book, I was actually sad it was over. I wish we had more politicians like Harry Truman. Thank you David McCullough.
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24 people found this helpful
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- joe136a
- 03-24-17
Re listening to an old favorite.
I have been listening to books I read a long time ago enjoyed this one greatly. If only we had a president like him.
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15 people found this helpful
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- John M.
- 10-24-11
Well worth the 50+ hours
I loved listening to this book. Being in my mid 50's I always heard from my parents what a dope Truman was. WRONG! Truman was actually a pretty good President and as honest as they come. The USA was lucky to have him. Fantastic narration as well and the story flows as only McCullough can do. A+++ IMHO
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14 people found this helpful
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- J. D. McGee
- 01-16-13
A Fascinating Story and Man
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
No
What other book might you compare Truman to and why?
The story of Abraham Lincoln is very similar to that of Truman...from the point of view of his humble beginnings to the path to the presidency.
What does Nelson Runger bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Nelson brings the characters to life, by changing his voice inflection for each person, singing, and creating an experience that puts you into the story.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No...it's too long and complicated. However, I found myself looking for times to be alone so I could listen to it. Very well done!
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9 people found this helpful
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- R44chopper
- 09-03-19
Endless description that won't stop!
This book will not end! On and on and on (add 100 more of those) and on....
A dozen pages describing the train he rode on during re-election.
Seemingly every speech he made during the campaign.
Endless talk about people he knew, and who their entire family was comprised of.
In general, I like McCullough, but I had to finally quit, it was just about 5 times as much detail as I ever wanted to know.
It's certainly informative, but far too detailed and far too boring and far far far too long.
It started out alright, but slow, but by the 75% point or so, I just couldn't take it any more.
Not engaging enough to stick it out through the endless details....
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- Donald C. Wunsch II
- 04-03-19
Necessary reading to understand 2019
The parallels to today's domestic politics were eye-opening, as were the roots of global issues. Truman's personality comes through enough to make me feel like I know him. The narrator is outstanding. An excellent read.
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6 people found this helpful